Airlines carry more than a million passengers each day. Most passengers have luggage they need to bring with them from their place of origin to their destination. Since the luggage travels on the same aircraft as the passenger, the luggage first must be checked in with a gate agent of the airline. The gate agent then sends the luggage into a secure area where the luggage is screened and sent through a series of conveyor belts and other mechanisms and eventually arrives at the aircraft belly door. At this point, the luggage is loaded onto the aircraft. After the aircraft arrives at its destination, the luggage is unloaded from the aircraft into another secure area, then delivered to a common area so the passenger may locate and retrieve the luggage. Typically, loading and unloading an aircraft is accomplished by Ramp Agents staging themselves inside the cramped belly of an aircraft, often at opposite ends, possibly including one or more people positioned at an intermediate point within the aircraft. The Ramp Agents load and unload the baggage by carrying or throwing the items.
While this process is occurring for a given aircraft at a given airport, the same process is going on for many other aircraft at the same airport. Furthermore, the same process will go on daily for thousands of other aircraft at other airports and in the air. Airlines and airports spend millions of dollars each year utilizing efficient means to move luggage. These efforts toward efficiency all stop when the bag reaches the belly door.
Although current processes have been effective from a logistical standpoint, they are slow and often cause a great deal of injury to baggage handlers and others involved with the process. Airlines spend huge amounts of money on injury-related costs due to Ramp Agents sustaining injuries on the job. Additionally, those Ramp Agents often end up with lifelong pain and suffering, due to the nature of the work involved. Moreover, airlines spend massive amounts of money for damage to luggage, damage to aircraft and lost efficiencies.
For these reasons, it would be beneficial to have a different process and/or system for loading and unloading luggage from the bellies of airplanes.